Concealed adjustment mechanisms for adjustable furniture



C. D- BROWN Jan. 29, 1963 CONCEALED ADJUSTMENT MECHANISMS FOR ADJUSTABLEFURNITURE Filed Dec. 27, 1960 INVENTOR.

CARL 0. BEOW/V Arr').

Unite This invention relates to improvements in concealed adjustmentmechanisms for adjustable furniture. More particularly, this inventionrelates to improvements in concealed adjustment mechanisms for furnitureitems wherein the backs can be set and held at different angles.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide animproved concealed adjustment mechanism for a furniture item wherein theback can be set and held at different angles.

It is desirable to be able to adjust the angles at which the backs ofchairs, chaises longues and other furniture items can be set and held.In recognition of this fact, a number of adjusting mechanisms have beenproposed for chairs, chaises longues and other furniture items. Manytates Patent Qfitice of those adjusting mechanisms have been complicatedand expensive, and hence those adjusting mechanisms have beenobjectionable. Other adjusting mechanisms have permitted a users fingersto be pinched or cut, and hence those other mechanisms have beenobjectionable. The present invention obviates these objections; and itis therefore an object of the present invention to provide an adjustingmechanism for chairs, chaises longues and other furniture items that issimple in construction and operation and that keeps the fingers of theuser from being pinched or cut.

The adjusting mechanism provided by the present invention includes anextension which is secured to a bracket that, in turn, is secured to thefront and rear legs of the furniture item. That bracket can be, andusually will be, a standard part of the furniture item; and hence aspecial bracket will not be required. That extension projects up into anarrow gap between the two pieces of the two piece arm of the furnitureitem. That extension carries a pin which extends into elon ated slotsand into notches in the confronting faces of the pieces of the two-piecearm. Those pieces of the two-piece arm completely enclose the pin andcompletely enclose the upper end of the extension; and hence it would bephysically impossible for a user to get his or her fingers pinched orcut during the adjusting of the angle of the back of the furniture item.it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide anextension that can be secured to a bracket which, in turn, is secured tothe front and rear legs of a furniture item and that extends upwardlyinto the gap between the two pieces of the two-piece arm of thatfurniture item and that carries a pin which extends into elongated slotsand into notches in the confronting faces of those pieces of that arm.

The pin which is carried by the extension secured to the bracket of thefurniture item provided by the present invention has a spring fixedlysecured to it. That spring urges the arm of that furniture itemdownwardly into a position where one of the sets of notches in theconfronting faces of the pieces of that arm will accommodate and holdthat pin. As a result, the adjusting mechanism provided by the presentinvention tends to assure full engagement between that pin and theadjacent notches. The said spring can, however, yield to permit raisingof the two-piece arm for adjustment purposes.

Other and further objects and advantages of the present invention shouldbecome apparent from an examination of the drawing and accompanyingdescription.

In the drawing and accompanying description, a pre- 3,75,811 PatentedJan, 29, 1963 ferred embodiment of the present invention is shown anddescribed but it is to be understood that the drawing and accompanyingdescription are for the purpose of illustration only and do not limitthe invention and that the invention will be defined by the appendedclaims.

In the drawing,

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of one form of chaise longue that ismade in accordance with the principles and teachings of the presentinvention,

FIG. 2 is a sectional view, on a larger scale, through one arm of thechaise longue of FIG. 1, and it is taken along the broken planeindicated by the line 2-2 in FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a sectional view, on the scale of FIG. 2, through the arm ofthe chaise longue of FIG. 1, and it is taken along the plane indicatedby the line 33 in FIG. 2, and

FIG. 4 is a partially-broken, sectional view of the chaise league ofFIG. 1, and it is taken along the broken plane indicated by the line 4-4in FIG. 1.

Referring to the drawing in detail, the numeral 10 generally denotes achaise longue that is made in accordance with the principles andteachings of the present invention. That chaise longue has a U-shapedrear leg 12; and that rear leg has an upwardly and forwardly inclinedportion at one side of the chaise longue, an upwardly and forwardlyinclined portion at the other side of the chaise league, and ahorizontal portion that connects the lower ends of those upwardly andforwardly inclined portions. The numeral M denotes the front legs of thechaise longue, and each of those legs is straight throughout its length.A connector 15 extends between, and interconnects While spacing apart,the bottom ends of those front legs. A U-shaped bracket 16 extendsbetween the'upper end of one of the legs 14 and one of the forwardly andupwardly inclined portions of the U -shape'd rear leg 12. A secondU-shaped bracket 16 extends between the upper end of the other front leg14 and the other forwardly and upwardly inclined portion of the U-shapedrear leg 12. The brackets 16 are of standard and usual design; and theyextend around the upper faces of theforwardly'and upwardly inclinedportions of the rear leg 12, and they also have portions which engagethe opposite sides of the upper ends of the front legs 14. Pivots 17secure the ilapper ends of the front legs 14 to the U-shaped bracketsThe numeral 18 denotes extensions which are secured to the U-shapedbrackets 16 and which extend forwardly and upwardly from those brackets.As indicated particularly by FIG. 2, the upper portions of theextensions 13 are offset laterally to dispose those upper portionscloser to the center lines of the upwardly and forwardly extendingportions of the rear leg 12. Pins 20 extend through openings, not shown,in the upper ends of the extensions 18, and those pins are quite sturdy.Those pins project outwardly from both faces of those extensions.

The numeral 22 denotes links which have the lower ends thereof securedto the upwardly and forwardly inclined portions of the U-shaped rear leg12 by pivots 24. The upper ends of the links 22 are secured to U-shapedbrackets 26 by pivots 28; and those brackets are secured tohorizontally-directed members 3t} of the chaise longuc. Also secured tothe U-shaped brackets 26 is a horizontallydirected member 29 whichinterconnects the two U-shaped brackets 26 while spacing them apart.

The horizontally-directed members 30 are rotatably secured to the frontlegs 14 of the chaise lounge by pivots 32. Brackets 34 are secured tothe front ends of the horizontally-directed members 30; and thosebrackets rotatably support a footrest 35. That footrest can be ofstandard and usual design, but it will preferably be capable of beingfolded.

The'numeral 38-denotes the back of the chaise lounge, and that back hasthe form of an inverted U. The free ends of the back 38 are rotatablysecured to the U-shaped brackets 26'by pivots 39; As a result, the back38' can tiltforwardly or rearwardly relative to the U-shaped brackets26, andthus can tilt forwardly or rearwardly relative to thehorizontally-directed members 30.

The numeral 41' generally denotes the two-piece arms of the chaiselounge and each of those arms includes an outer piece. 40 and an innerpiece 46. The pieces 40 and 46 are preferably lengths of tubing that aregenerally square in cross section but that are rounded at their corners;Each of the pieces 40 has an elongated, horizontally-directed slot 42therein, and each of those pieces has'notches 44 which. are contiguouswith that slot. Those notches extend forwardly and upwardly relative tothe slots 42. Each of the pieces 46 has an elongated,horizontally-directed slot 48 therein; and each of those pieceshasnotchesStlWhich are contiguous with that slot. Those notches extendforwardly and upwardly relative to the slots 48. The slots 42 and 48 andthe notches 44 and 50 are formed in those facesof the pieces 40 and 46which confront each other. Further, the slots 42 and 48 and the notches44' and 50 are in register with each other;

7 The slots 42 and 48 and thenotches 44 and 50 are dimensioned'to'freelyaccommodate the pins 20 carried by the extensions 18. In the normalpositions of the arms 41, a" pair ofnotches 44- and 50 will telescopedown over one ofthe pins 20, and'a second pair of notches 44 and'50'will' telescope down over the other of the pins 20. At such time,the back 38, of the chaise lounge will be lockeda'gainst' rotation inthe rearward direction.

The numeral 52' denotes lengths of spring wire which have the. forwardends" thereof extending through openings inthe pins 20. Those lengths ofspring wire are encased within thev pieces 40, and those lengths ofspring wire arebent so the rear ends thereof'press downwardly againstthe bottoms of thepiec'es 40. As a result, those lengths of springwireurge the pieces 40 downwardly relative to the pins 20 and thus urgepairs of the notches 44 and 50 down into engagement with the pins 20.However, those lengths of spring wire can yield to permit the arms 41to-be raised upwardly until the notches 44 and 50 are above, and out ofregister with, the pins 20. At this time the pins 20 will be lodgedwithin the slots 42 and 48, and hence the arms 41 can be moved forwardlyand rearwardly relative to those pins.

As indicated particularly by FIG. 2, the confronting facesofthe pieces40 and 46 of the two-piece arms are immediately adjacent the oppositefaces of the extensions 18.. Those extensions are thinner than thethickness of a finger ofany user of the chaise. lounge, and hence theuser-of that chaise lounge 10 can not get his or her finger intothe gapsbetween the pieces 40 and 46 of the arms 41. Furthermore, closures 54are provided for the ends of: the pieces 40 and 46 of the two-piece arms41, and hence a user simply'can not get his or her finger intoengagement with the slots 42 or 48' OI'iHtO engagement with thenotches'44; and 50.

The numeral 56 denotes pivots which rotatably secure the rear ends ofthe two-piece arms 41 to the arms of the U-shaped back 38. The numeral58 denotes short connectors which interconnect the forward ends of theadjacent pieces 40 and 46 of the two-piece arms 41. The connectors 58are dimensioned so the confronting faces of the pieces 40' and 46 arespaced apart distances which are just a little greater than thethicknesses of the extensions 18. Usually, a washer-like spacer, havinga thickness just slightly greater than that of one of the extensions 18will telescope over each connector 58 and will be interposed between theconfronting faces of the pieces 40 and 46.

' Normally, the lengths of spring wire 52 will hold pairs of notches 44and 50 telescoped down over the pins 20; and at such time the back 38 ofthe chaise lounge will be locked against rearward tilting. If the userleans back against the back 38, the forward and upward inclination ofthe notches 44 and 50 will cause those notches to jam themselves evenmore tightly into locking relation with the pins 20. As a result, thereis no possibility that even a heavy person could suddenly find the back38 tilting rearwardly with him.

To adjust the position of the back, the user will move the arms 41forwardly and upwardly-bendingthe lengths of spring wire 52 as he or shedoes so. While the slots 42 and 48 are thus held in register with thepins 20, the back 38 can be tilted forwardly or rearwardly t0 thedesired position. Thereafter, the upward and forward forces on the arms41 can be released; and the springs 52 will again urge those armsdownwardly relative to the pins '20. At such time, the pairs of notches44 and 50 will against telescope over the pins 20; and the back 38 willagain be locked against accidental tilting.

It will be noted that the pieces 40 and 46 are disposed on oppositesides of the extensions 18. Moreover, it will be noted that the faces ofthose pieces which contain the slots 42 and 48 and the notches 44 and 50are immediately adjacent the opposite faces of the extensions 18. As aresult, there will be only limited bending moments applied to the pins20; and hence these pins will be capable of resisting all forces thatcould reasonably be applied to them. It will also be noted that theupper ends of the extensions 18' are completely concealed; and that theupper and lower edges of the gaps, in which the extensionslSare lodged,are defined by rounded corners. Consequently, the fingers of the usersare completely protected against pinching or cutting. It will also benoted that the pins 20 hold the arms 41 in assembled relation with theU-shaped brackets 26 at all times, even when they permit forward andrearward movement of those arms relative to those" brackets.

Cloth, plastic or webbing will be used to fill the spaces between thearms of the back 38, between the horizontallydirected members 30, andbetween the sides of the foot rest 36; However, that cloth, plastic orwebbing has been omitted from the drawing to facilitate a clear showingof the rest of the chaise lounge.

Whereas the drawing and accompanying description have shown anddescribed a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it should beapparent to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made inthe form of the invention without affecting the scope thereof.

What I claim is:

I. In an article of furniture, a back that can be tilted forwardly andrearwardly, arms that are pivotally connected to the said back so thatsaid arms can move forwardly and rearwardly as the said back is tiltedforwardly and rearwardly, said arms consisting of inner pieces and outerpieces, brackets which have extensions projecting forwardly and upwardlytherefrom, said brackets being secured to the legs of said article offurniture, horizontally-directed pins carried by and extending outwardlyfrom both faces of said extensions, slots and notches in the confrontingfaces of said pieces of said arms, said slots and said notches freelyaccommodating said pins, said slots being parallel to the axes of saidarms, said notches being contiguous to and inclining forwardly andupwardly relative to said slots, and elongated wire-like springs thatare connected to said pins and that are disposed within some of saidpieces and that normally urge said arms downwardly relative to said pinsto normally telescope pairs of notches down onto said pins to normallylock said arms against rearward movement and thereby normally lock saidback against rearward tilting, said springs being yieldable to permitsaid arms to be raised upwardly to move said notches out of registerwith said pins and to move said slots into register with said pins andthereby permit forward and rearward movement of said arms and of saidback, said pieces of said two-piece arms being generally square in crosssection but having rounded corners whereby said two-piece arms definegaps that are of uniform width but that have smoothly-rounded upper andlower edges, said pieces of said two-piece arms being spaced apart inside-by-side relation to define gaps that accommodate said extensionsbut that are narrower than the thickness of the users finger whereby ausers finger can not enter said gaps and contact said slots, saidnotches or said pins, said pieces of said two-piece arms having the endsthereof closed whereby a users finger can not enter those ends andcontact said slots, said notches or said pins, the forward and upwardinclination of said notches causing forces which tend to tilt said backrearwardly to force said arms into tight locking engagement with saidpins.

2. In an article of furniture, a back that can be tilted forwardly andrearwardly, arms that are pivotally connected to the said back so thatsaid arms can move forwardly and rearwardly as the said back is tiltedforwardly and rearwardly, said arms consisting of inner pieces and outerpieces, brackets which have extensions projecting forwardly and upwardlytherefrom, pins carried by and extending outwardly from both faces ofsaid extensions, slots and notches in the confronting faces of saidpieces of said arms, said slots and said notches freely accommodatingsaid pins, said notches being contiguous to and inclining forwardly andupwardly relative to said slots, and springs that are connected to saidpins and that are disposed within some of said pieces and that normallyurge said arms downwardly relative to said pins to normally telescopepairs of notches down onto said pins, said springs being yieldable topermit said arms to be raised upwardly to move said notches out ofregister with said pins and to move said slots into register with saidpins and thereby permit forward and rearward movement of said arms andof said back, said pieces of said two-piece arms being generally squarein cross section but having rounded corners whereby said two-piece armsdefine gaps that are of uniform width but that have smoothly-roundedupper and lower edges, the forward and upward inclination of saidnotches causing forces which tend to tilt said back rearwardly to forcesaid arms into tight locking engagement with said pins.

3. In an article of furniture, a back that can be tilted forwardly andrearwardly, arms connected to the said back so that said arms can moveforwardly and rearwardly as the said back is tilted forwardly andrearwardly, said arms consisting of inner pieces and outer pieces,brackets which have extensions projecting forwardly and upwardlytherefrom, pins carried by and extending outwardly from both faces ofsaid extensions, slots and notches in the confronting faces of saidpieces of said arms, said slots and said notches freely accommodatingsaid pins, said notches being contiguous to and inclining forwardly andupwardly relative to said slots, and springs that are connected to saidpins and that are disposed within some of said pieces and that normallyurge said arms downwardly relative to said pins to normally telescopepairs of notches down onto said pins, said pieces of said two-piece armsbeing generally square in cross section, said pieces of said two-piecearms being spaced apart in side-by-side relation to define gaps thataccommodate said extensions but that are narrower than the thickness ofa users finger.

4. In an article of furniture, a back that can be tilted forwardly andrearwardly, arms connected to the said back so that said arms can moveforwardly and rearwardly as the said back is tilted forwardly andrearwardly, said arms consisting of inner pieces and outer pieces,brackets which have extensions projecting forwardly and upwardlytherefrom, pins carried by and extending outwardly from both faces ofsaid extensions, slots and notches in the confronting faces of saidpieces of said arms, said slots and said notches freely accommodatingsaid pins, said notches being contiguous to and inclining forwardly andupwardly relative to said slots, and springs that are connected to saidpins and that are disposed within some of said pieces and that norm-allyurge said arms downwardly relative to said pins to normally telescopepairs of notches down onto said pins, said pieces of said two-piece armsbeing generally square in cross section but having round corners, saidpieces of said twopiece arms being spaced apart to define gaps thataccommodate said extensions but that are narrower than the thickness ofa users finger, said pieces of said two-piece arms having the endsthereof closed.

5. In an article of furniture, a back that can be tilted forwardly andrearwardly, arms connected to the said back so that said arms can moveforwardly and rearwardly and rearwardly as the said back is tiltedforwardly and rearwardly, said arms consisting of inner pieces and outerpieces, brackets, pin carried by said brackets, slots and notches in theinner faces of some of said pieces, said slots and said notches freelyaccommodating said pins, said notches and said pins being engageable tolock said arms and said back against movement, said slots and said pinsbeing registrable to permit movement of said arms and of said back, saidpieces of said two-piece arms being generally square in cross section,said pieces of said two-piece arms being spaced apart in side-by-siderelation to define gaps that accommodate said extensions but that arenarrower than the thickness of a users finger.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS338,038 Coen Mar. 16, 1886 2,847,060 Pearlstine Aug. 12, 1958 2,887,150Thomas May 19, 1959 2,949,155 Panicci Aug. 16, 1960 2,964,097 Moore Dec.13, 1960 2,972,373 Thomas Feb. 21, 1961

5. IN AN ARTICLE OF FURNITURE, A BACK THAT CAN BE TILTED FORWARDLY ANDREARWARDLY, ARMS CONNECTED TO THE SAID BACK SO THAT SAID ARMS CAN MOVEFORWARDLY AND REARWARDLY AND REARWARDLY AS THE SAID BACK IS TILTEDFORWARDLY AND REARWARDLY, SAID ARMS CONSISTING OF INNER PIECES AND OUTERPIECES, BRACKETS, PIN CARRIED BY SAID BRACKETS, SLOTS AND NOTCHES IN THEINNER FACES OF SOME OF SAID PIECES, SAID SLOTS AND SAID NOTCHES FREELYACCOMMODATING SAID PINS, SAID NOTCHES AND SAID PINS BEING ENGAGEABLE TOLOCK SAID ARMS AND SAID BACK AGAINST MOVEMENT, SAID SLOTS AND SAID PINSBEING REGISTRABLE TO PERMIT MOVEMENT OF SAID ARMS AND OF SAID BACK, SAIDPIECES OF SAID TWO-PIECE ARMS BEING GENERALLY SQUARE IN CROSS SECTION,SAID PIECES OF SAID TWO-PIECE ARMS BEING SPACED APART IN SIDE-BY-SIDERELATION TO DEFINE GAPS THAT ACCOMMODATE SAID EXTENSIONS BUT THAT ARENARROWER THAN THE THICKNESS OF A USER''S FINGER.